Abstract
ETEC are a major cause of diarrhoeal disease in young infants in less-developed countries. Mucosal adherence of ETEC, an essential early event in intestinal colonisation, is promoted by serologically distinct bacterial surface ‘Colonisation Factor Antigens’ (CFAs). CFA/I, CFA/II and CFA/III have been characterised in some ETEC but even in some commonly isolated ETEC serotypes CFAs still remain to be identified. 3 coli surface antigens (CS4, CS5 & CS6) were recently described in ETEC serogroups 025, 027, 092, 0115, 0148, 0159 and 0167 but a role in mucosal adhesion has not been confirmed. We have therefore examined a collection of 20 ETEC isolates producing CS4, CS5 and CS6 for their ability to adhere to the brush border (BB) of human small intestinal enterocytes and to cultured human intestinal mucosa. 025 and 0167 serogroup ETEC producing CS4, CS6 and CS5, CS6 showed good BB adhesion (2.3 and 4.2 bacteria/BB); complementary ultrastructural studies of colonised mucosa confirmed CS4 and CS5 as rod-like fimbrial structures which promote BB adhesion of these strains. Good adhesion was also observed with CS6 producing ETEC of serogroups 027, 0148 and 0159 (1.8, 2.3, and 3.0 bacteria/BB) but electron microscopy of these strains revealed, in addition to CS6, fimbrial or fibrillar structures which probably represent previously unidentified CFAs since ETEC producing only CS6 were nonadherent in our assay (0.01 bacteria/BB). This study, therefore, has confirmed CS4 and CS5 as fimbrial CFAs and identified 4 putative CFAs in ETEC serogroups 027, 0148 and 0159 but, as yet, we have been unable to confirm CS6 as a human ETEC CFA.
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Knutton, S., Lloyd, D. & McNeish, A. 58 ADHERENCE PROPERTIES OF ENTEROTOXIGENIC E. COLI (ETEC) PRODUCING COLI (ETEC) PRODUCING COLI SURFACE ANTIGENS 4, 5 & 6 (CS4,CS5,CS6). Pediatr Res 24, 414 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198809000-00081
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198809000-00081
